Hamlet
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Posts: 2,241
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Post by Hamlet on Jun 16, 2013 16:58:06 GMT -5
Good luck but DON'T buy a $300 camper that needs $6000 of work to make it functional.. that is a false economy. You only buy a $300 camper when you realize that you could be spending $6k on it and that is OK with you. If an owner does the work her/himself, uses good quality materials, and takes pride in his/her workmanship, $6k is an absolute STEAL when you consider the outcome. It can be a one-of-a-kind example of mid-century Americana that you don't just have to look at as it collects dust. It's a rolling piece of art that you can use and enjoy. If everything is done first-class and the owner were to sell it next year, the "profit" could be nearly 100%. Not too bad in this economy. BUT, you only do this kind of restoration/rebuild when you do it because you love it. We paid $350 for Hamlet. He was a near-total wreck. Three months later, we paid $375 for his wings, and we didn't stop until we had spent nearly $6k. That's $600/foot of interior space. We have never regretted one thing that we did or one dollar that we spent. That's about equivalent to 80 rounds of golf, 60 movie-dinner-date nights with babysitter, or 4 years of smart phone, TV, and internet charges. Nope, don't regret a thing.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2013 17:05:18 GMT -5
Good luck but DON'T buy a $300 camper that needs $6000 of work to make it functional.. that is a false economy. We paid $350 for Hamlet. He was a near-total wreck. Three months later, we paid $375 for his wings, and we didn't stop until we had spent nearly $6k. That's $600/foot of interior space. We have never regretted one thing that we did or one dollar that we spent. That's about equivalent to 80 rounds of golf, 60 movie-dinner-date nights with babysitter, or 4 years of smart phone, TV, and internet charges. Nope, don't regret a thing. Who wouldn't give up all this modern crap technology for Hamlet??
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Hamlet
2K Post Member
Posts: 2,241
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Post by Hamlet on Jun 16, 2013 17:16:07 GMT -5
Chris: Hamlet and his people humbly thank you. There is nothing like a game of cribbage with popcorn and hot cocoa (the real stuff) on a chilly, rainy Pacific Northwest evening. The gas lamp keeps us toasty outside, and the cocoa keeps us warm inside. That being said, we aren't Luddites. We DO usually bring along the MacBook to watch an occasional DVD.
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txoil
New Member
Posts: 40
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Post by txoil on Jun 16, 2013 21:17:23 GMT -5
And that's why I am building Tallulah Belle's interior with a small flat screen TV on the rear wall, docking ports for the phone/computers and a Bose Bluetooth speaker for music inside and outside when appropriate. The "wow" factor of a gleaming Shasta and the usability of new A/V and comm tech is unbeatable!
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Post by s2aprilys2 on Jun 16, 2013 21:23:34 GMT -5
Good luck but DON'T buy a $300 camper that needs $6000 of work to make it functional.. that is a false economy. You only buy a $300 camper when you realize that you could be spending $6k on it and that is OK with you. If an owner does the work her/himself, uses good quality materials, and takes pride in his/her workmanship, $6k is an absolute STEAL when you consider the outcome. It can be a one-of-a-kind example of mid-century Americana that you don't just have to look at as it collects dust. It's a rolling piece of art that you can use and enjoy. If everything is done first-class and the owner were to sell it next year, the "profit" could be nearly 100%. Not too bad in this economy. BUT, you only do this kind of restoration/rebuild when you do it because you love it. We paid $350 for Hamlet. He was a near-total wreck. Three months later, we paid $375 for his wings, and we didn't stop until we had spent nearly $6k. That's $600/foot of interior space. We have never regretted one thing that we did or one dollar that we spent. That's about equivalent to 80 rounds of golf, 60 movie-dinner-date nights with babysitter, or 4 years of smart phone, TV, and internet charges. Nope, don't regret a thing. Ha! Consider we don't golf, we don't go out to movie night, we re-temp our friends as babysitters, I don't own a smart-phone... I think we're on the right track setting $$ aside for this thing. And I agreed, you can't really put a final $$ sign on the finish project if it's a piece of history, and it's going to bring you years of joy and memories. Well, that's also speaking from a previous boat owner that had put thousands and thousands every year and it never ends. So a camper sounds somewhat financially safer..
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mobiltec
1K Post Member
Restoring The 57 Shasta
Posts: 1,134
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Post by mobiltec on Jun 16, 2013 21:37:31 GMT -5
Bill, you're welcome. We happen to agree on many things. One of my favorite sayings is "What could go wrong?"
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soup
1K Post Member
Posts: 1,768
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Post by soup on Jun 17, 2013 7:18:03 GMT -5
Again, A floor jack will allow you to remove the grease caps, inspect outer bearings, pack new grease in outer bearing area if they look OK, then put grease cap back on. Then put on your spare tire/rim you brought with you, then do the other side. You can do this before even leaving the purchase spot or tow it a block or so to where you can stop and work on it first, then take it home to do the grease seals and bearings the right way. After the bearing job at home, you will have a feel for repairing the unit or cleaning it inside and out and flipping it for something different.
It's only a 15 min ride? Keep it around 50 mph MAX. Good Luck, try to relax. Worry and panic can cause just as many problems as stupidity.
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Post by bigbill on Jun 17, 2013 7:54:45 GMT -5
YES Soup but she can have it hauled home for free then do the work one time at her leisure. I towed mine home just a few miles kept speed down 35mph and less but that doesn't mean it was the smart thing to do. I also pulled with no lights and no license plates, again do as I say not as I do if you have to ask these questions about what to do you probably don't know what to do if you get in trouble. You and I have probably learned the hard way how to get out of a bad situation. I am just suggesting how they can save some time and money buying tires and things they will replace later anyway and reduce the chance of a problem they possibly can't handle. If they have a break down on the trip home the cops will call a local towing company to clear the roadway and they will pay the bill and storage.
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Post by s2aprilys2 on Jun 17, 2013 9:05:54 GMT -5
soup: Thanks for the advice, I'm sure my husband would appreciate that. He already took the tires off and he's going to get new ones today. Will remind him to do the grease bearing. It's only 15mins away and we're going to take the back way home so it would not go over 35mph and no highway involve. He's pretty mechanical I'm confidence he'll get it home safely. @bill, I agreed with you, if it were me, I would have it tow home and not worry bout it. But the hubby already have his mind set in getting new tires, put it on to get it home. And once he had a mission on something that's what he's going to do. Big THANKS again for all the valuable advice~
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2013 18:58:49 GMT -5
He's pretty mechanical I'm confidence he'll get it home safely. But the hubby already have his mind set in getting new tires, put it on to get it home. And once he had a mission on something that's what he's going to do. Careful now, it sounds like you might just be a proud new owner of a "new" old Airflyte!
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Gone Kayaking
1K Post Member
long live the Vintage Shasta Trailer Forum....we're gone but you are not forgotten!
Posts: 1,600
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Post by Gone Kayaking on Jun 17, 2013 22:46:18 GMT -5
Congratulations!!! You and we (watching) are gonna have a ton of fun watching your rebuild!
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Post by s2aprilys2 on Jun 18, 2013 18:28:41 GMT -5
Congratulations!!! You and we (watching) are gonna have a ton of fun watching your rebuild! THANKS!! I'm crossing my fingers & toes on the "fun" part !
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KimB
New Member
The 'Invisible' Trailer
Posts: 48
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Post by KimB on Jun 18, 2013 19:54:19 GMT -5
Congratulations, from a fellow Airflyte owner!
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Post by hoosierpoet on Jun 18, 2013 22:36:23 GMT -5
Ditto on the congrats! We've had our '61 Airflyte for a year now, just started the rebuild this week. Be sure to keep us all informed!
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